City Looks to Save, Renovate Old Cambridge Firehouse

CAMBRIDGE, Md. - The City of Cambridge hopes to move forward to save one historic building. The old Cambridge Firehouse, located on Gay Street, has sat vacant for many years. Still, it's iconic white bell tower stands pristine, towering well above buildings in downtown Cambridge.

But from below, there are signs of wear, including a roof now slowly caving in. It's a sorry sight for people like Steve Abbott, who has watched the firehouse slowly deteriorate for years.

Firefighters were, of course, the first occupants of the old firehouse, which at the time, was the newest building in 1926. Soon after, the fire company relocated and made room for city workers and a police department to move in. But even that didn't long, the City eventually moved out, leaving the firehouse mostly unattended to up to today.

Public Works Director Odie Wheeler says $200,000 in the city budget will first address the roof, adding a sturdier backbone and a similar look.

"You can see some bowing. You can see some failing," Wheeler said. "Certainly when we designed what we did, we wanted to keep the historic tradition of the building. We don't want to make it totally modern-day. We want to keep the historic integrity that it has in the community."

Wheeler says plans to renovate the entire building at a price of about $4 million are also in the works. They're plans both he and Abbott say will take a lot more patience and effort before new life returns to the old firehouse.

Wheeler says the City plans to put out bids for a contractor to install the new roof some time in the spring. If that happens, Wheeler says they're looking into possibly relocating the annual Rescue Fire Company Train Garden if construction continues into the holiday season.

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